SWIMMING'S BROWNING LIKES NEW SURROUNDINGS...
CLEVELAND, OH (February 21, 2008) - Robby Browning has always been a Spartan at heart, starting his academic career at Michigan State University before transferring to Case Western Reserve University this past fall, where he's making waves for the swimming and diving team ever-since.
The Grosse Pointe, Mich. native spent his freshman year in East Lansing, at Michigan State, taking in the MSU Spartans' athletic prowess in sports such as football and basketball. But after a year and feeling like he hadn't experienced anything new, Browning made the decision to come to Case Western Reserve to try to become a veterinarian, while also joining the swim team.
“I have a much busier schedule at Case then I did at MSU because I didn't swim, but I definitely have it down now,” Browning said.
Going from a campus with about 45,000 students to one just under 10,000 students has also been quite a change for Browning.
“[MSU] is a huge school, whereas Case is much more intimate,” Browning said. “It's much more low-key here and I'm having a lot of fun.”
And even though he now resides in Buckeye Country, Browning has remained faithful to his Michigan roots, cheering on his home state teams.
“A lot of the kids on the team are big Ohio State Buckeye fans, so we always but-heads on that,” Browning said. “Next year, I'm living with three other guys on the swim team. Two of us are (University of) Michigan fans and the other two are Ohio State fans, so it's going to be a house-divided.”
Now a sophomore, Browning's lifetime love for animals has led to studying biology, Spanish, and pre-veterinary medicine at Case Western Reserve.
“Eventually, I would like to go to veterinarian school,” Browning said. “I worked in a vet clinic this past summer and here at Case I just joined the Case Animal Rights and Ethics Society, so I do a lot of animal and vet-related activities.”
Outside of his academic demands, Browning has spent a lot of time preparing for the University Athletic Association Swimming and Diving Championships this weekend [Feb. 21-23], where he hopes to help the Spartans have a good finish.
“I'm really hoping to score some important points for the team at the conference meet,” Browning said. “It's all about the team doing well and hopefully moving on to Nationals.”
Browning will compete in the 100- and 200-yard backstroke and the 200-yard butterfly at the UAA Championships and he believes Head Coach Chris Conlon has put the team in a position to be successful in this year's meet and finish better than last year's squad.
“[Coach Conlon] has really improved my strokes and has given me great advice this season,” Browning said. “I've had a lot of shoulder problems this season, but he's helped me stay positive and get healthy. He's very supportive and knowledgeable and we have a lot of trust in him.”
The UAA Championships run from Feb. 21-23 at the University of Rochester [ SEE BLOG ]. Swimming competition will start at 10:00 a.m. each day with diving events to follow at 6:00 p.m.
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